South Dakota- Devil's Tower, Crazy Horse, and Mount Rushmore

So we awoke to a blustery Wyoming morning, showered quickly, restocked the ice and were on our way to South Dakota with our ultimate destination being Mount Rushmore.

We were on the road again with a shorter distance to go than we thought because we traveled farther the night before.

Our first stop was a mini detour to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. This is a huge rock that juts out of the earth. Some believe it was created by the inside of a volcano. BUT, there is a Native American legend that a bear was chasing seven brothers and the one brother had magical powers. He sang a song and the rock rose out of the earth and carried the seven brothers to safety. The bear still tried to claw its way up to the brothers which created the markings you know see in the tower. No one really knows why the tower is called Devil's Tower, but one surveyor said that a group of Indians called it "Bad God's Tower" which obviously translates into Devil's Tower. It was pretty awe inspiring. It is truly amazing all there is in America.

We left there and headed toward Crazy Horse Memorial. This is the largest monument in progress in the world. It is dedicated to War Chief Crazy Horse who took down Custer's 7th Infantry. (Look how much we are learning!) When it is finished it is going to have him on a horse pointing towards his lands. It is actually a tribute to all Native Americans and their pride in their land. Right now, it is just his face. Here we had an early dinner at Laughing Water Restaurant. We all had some variation of Native American food. I had a buffalo beef stew on top of Indian Fry Bread (very comparable to funnel cake taste, just flat) Shannon had an Indian Taco and Holly had a buffalo beef burger. We said goodbye to Crazy Horse and headed to see some of our presidents.

Mount Rushmore. A symbol of the development of America. George Washington- who began our country, Thomas Jefferson- who expanded our country with the Louisiana Purchase and wrote the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln who preserved our country by taking the first steps to abolish slavery, and Theodore Roosevelt who took pride in our country by creating national parks and monuments among his other accomplishments. Here, we spent time admiring the view and learning about the development of the monument. Then, we got some ice cream and watched the night show. Here we learned about the end of the Indian Wars, and the presidents who are on the monument. The monument lit up to the patriotic sound of "America, America". The three of us noted how it felt like the climax of our trip. We are all astounded by how much we appreciate America after this trip. Our country is so amazing, something we all probably take for granted.

All in all, it was a breathtaking day of see the country. Another plus, our campsite was only 5 miles from Mount Rushmore. Holla! We got to the camp the earliest we ever have. It was still dark. I hope you are enjoying keeping track of our journey! It is wrapping up rather quickly! See everyone soon!